Hageman Studios: Classic: Robin Jay
by J.R.R. Not-Tolkien
Summary: A long time ago, when Ninjago went by another name, there was a youth who dedicated his life to helping the poor and needy in times of trouble, when a greedy tyrant ruled the land, and there was no hope for Ninjago. This is the legend of Robin Jay. (The story is a lot more humorous than it sounds XD) A Ninjago adaptation of Disney's "Robin Hood".
1. Setting the Stage

**Hieeeez! TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning here! Whew! That was a mouthful. Could someone please kindly come up with a nickname for me? And the acronym TMOAL doesn't count XD!**

 **Anyhoo, if you're wondering why I just disappeared off the FanFiction map for a week, not commenting or updating or any of the stuff that shows you're alive on FanFiction, I was away at science camp without my computer, so I couldn't do anything. You know how hard it was for moi to not have me fingers on a keyboard for a week?!**

 **You'll hear all about my time at camp in my upcoming FanFiction story, Science Camp Shenanigans, since I was meticulously taking notes on everything at camp so I could write it down later! I strive for authenticity in my real-life adaptations. Heh. You don't know how far I go for authenticity.**

 **Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this story, which was based on, and inspired by Disney's movie _Robin Hood_!**

* * *

 **Chapter the First: Setting the Stage**

Allow me to introduce you to 12th-century Ninjago, which was then given the name of England. After our ruler, the brave King Garmadon the Lionhearted, went away to lead a Holy Crusade on the mainland beyond, his younger brother, the cruel Prince Chen, and his Serpentine advisor, the cunning Sir Pythor, took Ninjago's throne in his place. Ninjago fell into a state of depression and misery, as the greedy prince raised the peasants' taxes to an obscene height, eager to have his hands on all the gold and silver in Ninjago. Every yen, farthing, and sovereign was on their way to becoming part of Chen's treasure house. Everyone was poor and dispirited.

But before you go, _This is boring!_ , I'm not finished yet. There was someone who managed to evade both the taxes and the despair that came with them. Well, there were a few someones, but this man was a bit more interesting to write about. He was a youth, actually. His name was James of Locksley, but he was more commonly called Jay.

He and his friends: Cole Little, a tall and muscular young man teasingly nicknamed "Little Cole"; Zane-A-Dale, a quiet but hawk-eyed minstrel; and Kai Scarlet, a fiery-tempered youth with equally intense sword-fighting skills, lived together in Birchwood Forest, located on the outskirts of Nottingham, a good-sized town that happened to be where Prince Chen and Sir Pythor had their headquarters in Nottingham Castle.

If you're wondering why these four boys didn't live in the town itself, well . . . let's just say it would have interfered with their careers. You see, Jay and his comrades were thei-

* * *

 **Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there, mister!**

What is it? Who's that?

 **Never mind who I am, just do me a favor: call us something, if you have to call us anything, something a little less uncouth than that** _ **word**_ **you were about to say? You are probably less heartless than to demean a man, my dear Mr. Narrator?**

It's actually _Miss_ Narrator, but whatever. How about . . . foresters?

 **That's too vague. I mean, no one even knows what a forester means nowadays.**

Uh . . . don't you know?

 **If** _ **you**_ **don't know what a forester is, then** _ **I**_ **certainly don't. I'm just a character in your imagination, remember?**

Lemme look it up: _forester: a person in charge of a forest or skilled in planting, managing or caring for trees._ Or the archaic: _a person or animal living in a forest._

 **Um . . . I suppose that second definition works.**

All right, glad you're happy. Now shoo. Geez, some people can be so touchy . . .

 **I heard that!**

* * *

 _Anyway_ , Jay and his comrades were _foresters_ , as Mr. Finicky was so kind to point out. I'll let _them_ tell you their actual profession.

But Jay didn't simply go around calling himself "James of Locksley", no sir. That would have been far too bland for a youth of his notoriety, especially with his friends have nicknames of their own. So, to give his fame an extra boost, he gave himself the name "Robin Jay", for the robin's feather he always wore in his hat. Sound familiar? It'd better be. Just kidding, it might not. But, it's probably somewhat familiar to those of you who've heard a story about a man with a similar name.

Well, I was hired to tell Robin Jay's story like it is, and that's what I'm going to do. So sit back, relax, and imagine yourself in a leafy green forest, watching four young men walking down a woodland path, laughing and talking merrily to one another. . .


	2. Our First Encounter

**Gah! Sorry I took so long to put this up! I had to copy this all out from my NEO, (sort of a computer meant specifically for typing only), and while I've gotten to Chapter Four on NEO, I've still got to copy Chapters 3-4 onto my computer. Whew!**

 **This has quite a bit of character descriptions, so expect quite a bit of that XD**

 **Thanks so much to The Mayor Of Ninjago City, lovesgod12, and Guest for commenting, favoriting, and following!**

 **Hope you likey!**

* * *

 **Chapter the Second: Our First Encounter**

"Good grief, Jay, where do you come up with this stuff?" Kai Scarlet wiped his streaming eyes in an effort to stop laughing.

Robin Jay, in a fit of laughter himself, said, with a broad grin, "Nothing to it, Scarlet! All I have to do is think of His Most Royal Whininess, Prince Chen, and presto!" Jay stuck his thumb in his mouth, screwing his face up into a pout. "The jokes will just fly to you like arrows!"

Cole was already clutching his sides and hooting with laughter, but seeing his best friend make a sulky face and complain in a high-pitched voice, "I've only got 999,999,999,999,999 pieces of gold in my treasure houses! Quadruple the taxes so this poor old prince can just scrape by paying the mortgage on this ridiculously expensive castle that's already been paid off! Oh, shut up, Sir Pythor, you're tickling my ear!", was just too much. He collapsed against a tree, howling with mirth.

Jay made a great show of hopping about on one foot with one finger in his ear, as if trying to get a snake tongue out of it.

Zane-A-Dale, who was normally quiet and composed, could hardly keep from joining Kai rolling around on the forest floor in a fit of hiccuping giggles. "Oh my word, that's Prince Chen to a T!" he choked, swiping his streaming eyes on his sleeve.

"Perhaps to a TI?" Jay suggested slyly.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Cole asked, grinning.

"It means 'Total Idiot', of course!"

That insult to the crown sent the others into fresh peals of laughter. These four merry men had not a care in the world to keep them from laughing at the prince, no matter how much money or power he had.

* * *

The aforementioned Robin Jay was a tall, handsome lad of twenty-one, with ever-tousled auburn ginger hair, a teasing grin playing on his youthful face, and clever blue eyes that always glinted with a mischievous sparkle. His right eyebrow had been nicked by an arrow, and while the wound healed nicely, that part of his face could be called by some, "marred." But I personally think it added to his character of roguish daring. You'd rather expect a youth like this in a fine hall, flirting with pretty ladies and entertaining lords. But Jay abandoned the prospect of royal life and was quite happy to live in Birchwood Forest with his trusted band of friends. He was by far the best archer in that region, possibly in all England. He never missed a mark, his aim was always swift and true. Any enemy under Robin Jay's hawk-eye would most surely be dead with an arrow through his heart mere seconds later.

The closest of his three companions was twenty-two-year-old Cole. His full name was Cole Little, but when he became part of Jay's band, his friends playfully nicknamed him "Little Cole." He was anything _but_ little. Tall and muscular, with a broad chest and a strongly-set face, Cole was completely loyal to Jay, and the pair often fought back-to-back in combat, defending the other from harm even at the cost of their own lives. His face was often dressed in a serious expression, and his dark hair swept across his brow, piercing obsidian eyes, and set jaw gave the onlooker the impression of gazing upon a seasoned warrior.

The second to join the band was Kai Scarlet. Once part of a noble family, the twenty-one-year-old ran away after accidentally dealing one of his father's servants a blow too hard. He had been afraid that if he had killed the servant, he'd be killed as well. But now, living in the woods, he was carefree and often quite lighthearted. He wouldn't trade his present for his past for anything. He had spiky bark-brown hair that was practically impossible to keep tidy, a scar across one eye from a particularly nasty sword-fight, and irises the color of a sunset-lit fire. Unlike his brethren, Kai preferred fighting with a sword in hand rather than with the typical bow and arrows.

The third to join the company was Zane-A-Dale. He was a young minstrel who had a . . . to put it mildly, an interesting love life. His first encounter with Robin Jay was when he asked him for help in stopping his lady love from marrying a wealthy baron from the Normandy region, whom she had to wed on her father's orders. But after the marriage had been stopped, the twenty-one-year-old minstrel was going to propose marriage to the lady in question, when she suddenly rejected his affections for those of another man. Heartbroken, Zane joined up with Jay to get his mind off his former love and find a more exciting life. Though, to be honest, why any woman would exchange this gentle youth's love for another's is beyond my imaginings. Zane had immaculate blond hair that could never be mussed, eyes the color of a beautiful winter sky, and a kind smile could usually be found playing on his lips. He was the most unwarlike of the four in Robin Jay's company, which meant most enemies underestimated him. Here's a warning: if you happen to make enemies with Zane, don't think his looks and musical ability are all he's got in the weapons apartment. He had an eye with a bow-and-arrow second only to Jay's.

The all wore suits of Lincoln green, to blend in with the forest around them, but they added their own personal flair to their what might have been dull uniforms. Cole's suit was a slightly darker green, and his leather boots, instead of being brown, were midnight black, like his hatband. Kai had a bright red band around his hat, and wore blood-red stockings, from which he took his nickname, Kai Scarlet. Zane's uniform was a lighter green, and he had a white hatband and leather boots. Jay never changed out of his Lincoln green suit, which had no particularly special touches apart from the robin's feather stuck in his hat, unless he was safely within their camp, hidden deep in Birchwood Forest. Then he would don clothes from his previous life, stuffs you'd see on royalty, "because," he would say with a laugh, "where else could you find my favorite color? Blue doesn't grow on trees, y'know."

The Birchwood Forest Fighters was one name used to describe this clan of unlikely friends, but they officially called themselves, "Robin Jay and His Merry Men." A bit less intimidating, I suppose.

Jay had been recognized as the leader from the start, as he possessed at least one trait from each of his three comrades: Cole's loyalty and strength of mind, Kai's ferocity in battle, and Zane's gentleness and sympathy for the less fortunate. Jay would never kill for the sake of killing, nor attack just anybody who happened to be passing through their part of the woods. He had a moral code he followed closely, and if he caught any of his teammates stepping outside that code boundary, he would make sure, even though it hurt him to do it, that they wouldn't try to overstep that line again.

There. Now that I've got all the descriptions of these four characters, and who they were, and all that out of the way, I can continue on with the story.

* * *

The company had now reached a peaceful river, which, despite its tranquility, was too deep and too wide to cross on foot. Fortunately, there was a thick tree trunk that would serve a purpose as a bridge for the time being. "Who should cross first?" Cole asked, frowning. "We can't all go across at once."

They all immediately turned to Jay. Their leader smiled calmly. "If it's a matter of respect we're fearing here," he said, "then I suggest that, being the two oldest, Cole, we let these fine gentlemen cross first." He gestured to Kai and Zane.

"Sounds fair enough to me," Cole said with a shrug. "After you, boys," he said, making a bow to Kai and Zane.

Unfortunately, Jay forgot to mention which one of those two should be the first to make their way across the log bridge. Within seconds, neither youth had gotten across, because they had both tried to cross at the same time, and ended up colliding into each other and falling headlong into the river. Treading water, they spluttered water and insults at their leader, who was slapping his knees and laughing at how easily they had fallen for his trick, which had been played on them many times before. "Gets 'em every time, eh, Cole boy?" he laughed.

"You got that right, Jay!" Cole chuckled. "Now, shall we cross?"

"Yes, indeed!"

The two made sweeping bows to the other, and walked onto the tree trunk at the same time. The result was as comical and the last, and soon both Jay and Cole had fallen off and into the water to join Kai and Zane, who were taking their turns to laugh at the misfortunes of their comrades. "The joke's on you this time, Jay!" Kai grinned, as Jay shook water out of his hair like a dog attempting to dry off after a good swim.

"Well, there's our bath for the week!" he replied, clapping Zane hard on the back, causing the minstrel to choke on river water.

Once he recovered from his coughing fit, Zane muttered, "I highly resent that, and you know it."

"It's not like we have a choice in the matter," Jay shrugged. "All the good rivers are too far away from camp."

Then the subject was dropped, and the four boys splashed about in the water for a while, squirting the fresh river water into each other's mouths and playfully tossing water at each other, until their suits of Lincoln green were completely soaked.

* * *

Unfortunately, their loud catcalls and hoots of laughter from earlier that day had caught the attention of a certain enemy of Robin Jay's. The sheriff of Nottingham, a man called Zugu, was determined to catch the elusive Jay and end his career once and for all, and possibly his life while he was on the subject. Jay had humiliated Sheriff Zugu "Bushel Britches" more than the sheriff liked to recall, and to see the youth relaxing in the river, that annoyingly taunting grin playing on his face, made Zugu want to get rid of him even more.

Silently, he beckoned to his men, a good ten or fifteen total, all armed with sturdy bows and arrows, then pointed to the river where Jay and his comrades were frolicking in the water. In a matter of minutes, the spot on the river was surrounded by Zugu's men, all with bows aimed at the four youths.

Jay had known the sheriff had been watching them, and, as if surprised to see his men, abruptly put his hands up. The others followed suit, hoping that Jay was coming up with a plan. On Zugu's signal, the archers on the river bank fired a slew of arrows. Just in time, the four youths ducked, an arrow barely missing Jay's head as the shaft went through his hat.

Underwater, Cole, Kai, and Zane saw Jay frantically waving his arms, beckoning them to follow him. They swam under the log they had attempted to cross not fifteen minutes earlier, resurfaced on the other side, and quietly clambered onto the river bank. Unfortunately, the squeak of their wet and waterlogged boots against the dusty dirt path gave them away instantly. Sheriff Zugu roared, "Get them!"

The sheriff's archers ran after the four youths, who easily dodged arrow after arrow fired at them. While Jay's company were weighted down with their soaked clothing and water-filled boots, the sheriff's men were slowed by their cumbersome bows and arrow-heavy quivers, so all in all, they were evenly matched.

At the last second, Jay, Cole, Kai, and Zane scrambled up into a tree, and hid atop a high branch sturdy enough to easily support all four of them. They watched the confused archers down below them without making a sound, but still trying hard not to laugh at their baffled expressions. Finally, the sheriff's men gave up, running back in the direction they had come.

Cole leaned against a tree trunk directly at the thick branch's tip, removing an arrow that had skewered into his tunic. Frowning at it, he said "We almost had it that time, Jay. You're taking too many chances."

Jay yawned, stretching himself out in the sun like a cat and leaning against the tree trunk from where the branch sprouted. "Chances? You must be joking!" he said, shrugging dismissively. "What's the point in being an outlaw without the danger of being caught? That was a bit of a lark, Cole."

"Well, it wouldn't have been if that archer had shot a little lower," Kai said, thumbing at Jay's hat. "That's no candle on a cake."

His companion hadn't even noticed the arrow sticking out from his hat. "Oh, hello, this one almost had my name, didn't it?" He stuck his finger through the hole in his hat. "They are getting better, you know," he said, fixing his hat back on his head. "You have to admit, they are getting better."

"I'll bet next time they'll have a hangman's rope around our necks," Cole said, frowning as he broke the arrow in his hands in two. "Pretty hard to laugh hanging there, Jay."

Jay balanced on the branch while at the same time balancing an arrow on his fingertip. "It'll take more than better aim to get the better of us, Cole," he said with a grin. "En garde!"

He threw the arrow, and it went right through Cole's hat, pinning it to the tree trunk as Cole barely ducked. "Hey, watch it, Jay, that's the only hat I've got!" he complained, tugging his hat out of the tree.

Zane had gone extremely quiet during this conversation. "What's bugging you, Zane?" Jay asked, slightly concerned.

His blond teammate shrugged. "I was merely pondering something," he said. When his friends gave him questioning looks, Zane said, slightly annoyed, "If you must know, I was wondering which side we're on."

"What do you mean, 'which side we're on'?" Jay repeated, mildly puzzled. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No, no, Zane's got a point," Kai said, turning to his leader with a look. "Are we good guys or bad guys? I mean, with our robbing the rich to feed the poor stuff, you'd think-"

"Rob?" Jay cut in. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly as he shook his head. "That's a naughty word, we never rob." He leaned back against the tree, his hat covering his eyes. "We-well, we sort of borrow a bit from those who can afford it."

"Borrow?" Cole grinned. "Boy, are we in debt."

Suddenly there was a loud blowing of trumpets echoing through the wood. And not just any trumpets. The young outlaws knew that meant something new to do. They peeked through the leaves of the tree, and spotted what looked like a grand procession passing through the forest. And judging by the heavily guarded and padlocked chest in front of the ornate coach crowning the parade, it was a jackpot procession. Jay grinned merrily at his comrades. "Another collection day for the poor, eh, boys?"

"Sweet charity," Kai agreed, grinning back.


	3. Getting the Job Done

**OO-DE-LALLY! I finally finished Chapter the Third! Whew! Well, finished copying it, anyway, I'm technically up to Chapter the Seventh in the world of NEO.**

 **Thanks The Mayor of Ninjago City and Guest for waiting so patiently for me to get my act together and finish this chappie!**

 **Hope you likey, and stay tuned for Chapter the Fourth (be prepared for extreem silliness today . . . *cackles gleefully*)**

* * *

 **Chapter the Third: Getting the Job Done**

The four boys scrambled out of the tree and darted for a good-sized bush not too far away. They knew exactly how they were going to arrange the borrowing of the gold in that padlocked chest: unfairly taken taxes from the poor folks of Ninjago that they were going to return to their rightful owners.

They quickly dug out the disguises they had hidden under the bush and tugged them on over their Lincoln green tunics. They would be pretending to be a band of traveling entertainers: Jay was a pretty gypsy fortune-teller, Zane would use his minstrel skills, and Kai and Cole were a pair of magicians. Well, Cole was the magician. Kai ended up having to play as his female assistant. "Just great," he muttered, trying to flatten his hair under a red kerchief. "Why do I have to be a girl, anyway?"

"I've explained this a hundred times," Jay said patiently, sliding gold bracelets over his wrists as he spoke. "Both of us have leaner figures, and since Zane is the only one with professional entertaining experience and Cole's too tall and muscular to pass for a girl, we've got to pick up the feminine work. Just don't say anything and you'll do fine. I'll try to make it up to you next time if we get a chance to choose our roles."

"If there _is_ a next time," Kai muttered.

Cole just grinned and tossed his red-garbed comrade a veil. "Wear this just in case. Your face sure doesn't look like a girl's."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the disguised four hid in the bushes alongside the dusty road cutting through the forest. They spotted the procession heading toward Nottingham, and Zane murmured, "I wonder who it could be? You don't see processions that elaborate here everyday."

"Must be some bigshot lord or something." Kai folded his arms over his chest as he glared at the heavily ornamented carriage.

Jay slapped himself in the forehead, making his wavy black wig almost fall off. "That's not just any procession! That's the royal coach! It's Prince Chen himself!"

"The prince?" Cole's eyes went wide. He gave Jay a look. "Wait a minute, there's a law against robbing royalty." He turned on his heel to leave. "I'll catch you later."

"So much for being loyal," Kai whispered behind his hand to Zane.

But before Cole could walk off, Jay quickly stamped on his trailing robes. He caught his friend's wrist he hit the dirt path and pulled him back up. "What?" he cried, flourishing his blue dress dramatically. "And miss this chance to perform before royalty?"

Cole sighed. "Here we go again."

* * *

Inside the royal coach, Prince Chen was scooping up gold coins in his hands and letting the money fall through his fingers. The tax collecting was coming along beautifully. Soon, all of Ninjago's money would be in his grip. "Taxes!" he exclaimed delightedly, tossing sovereigns and yen into the air. "Beautiful, lovely _taxes_!" He laughed devilishly.

The prince was dressed in ornate robes of red, gold, and purple that were slightly too big for his short and plump figure. His greasy black hair was slicked back on his head, and he had a mustache you'd expect to see on a man who looked such as he. His small black eyes were cunning and greedy; as soon as you saw the glance of those eyes, you'd instantly feel a sensation of loathing toward this foul Prince Chen.

His advisor, Sir Pythor, was an Anacondrai Serpentine, a humanoid snake, and also the last of his kind. He was white with a spattering of purple scales, a long white neck crowned with a snake's head with protruding ivory fangs and dark pinkish-red eyes that glinted slyly at anyone he happened to stare at. If he was at his proper size, he'd be too tall to fit in the carriage, but he had been shrunk to a more manageable size for Chen to boss around, about the size of a regular snake. His attire consisted of a purple plumed hat and a matching high-collared cape.

"Sire, you have an absolute _ssskill_ for collecting donations from the poor," he hissed with pleasure.

"To coin a phrase, my dear counselor," Chen grinned wickedly, "'rob the poor to feed the rich'!"

The two chuckled evilly. "What is the next stop, Sir Pythor?" Prince Chen inquired.

Pythor slithered up to the map of Ninjago. "The next stop is Nottingham, sire!" He reported.

"Ah, Nottingham!" Chen took up a finely jeweled crown and placed it atop his head. "The richest plum of them all!" Slightly too big, the crown slipped down so it drooped in the back.

Peeking from behind the hand mirror held up by his coiled tail, Sir Pythor applauded Chen's crown. "A perfect fit on you, sire!" he hissed. "It gives you an air of royalty, majesty, regality, chival-"

"Don't overdo it, Pythor," the prince cut him off. He straightened his crown so it sat properly on his head. "That, I believe, does it." He admired his reflection in the hand mirror. "This gives me a feeling of power! _Power!_ "

He repeated it with such force that Sir Pythor fell over, dropping the mirror with a clatter. He bobbed his head in emphatic agreement. "How well King Garmadon's crown sits upon your noble brow, Your Majesty!"

"Doesn't it?" Chen purred. Then, as he realized what his advisor had said, his smile faded. "Did you say _King_ Garmadon?!"

He grabbed Pythor by the neck and shook him violently. "I told you never to mention my brother's name!" Chen roared, face contorted with fury.

"A-a mere slip of the forked tongue, Your Majesty," Pythor stammered. "We're in this plot together, if you don't mind my saying so. And remember, it was _your_ idea that I hypnotize him-"

"I know," the prince said with a chuckle, "and send him off on that crazy Crusade!" Laughing once more, he let go of Pythor's neck.

"Much to the sorrow of the queen mother," Pythor added as an afterthought.

At the mention of his mother, Chen let out an infantile squawk. Then he scowled. "Mother always did like Garmadon best," he muttered, sticking his thumb in his mouth and sucking it noisily.

Pythor winced, wishing his ears weren't so high up that he couldn't cover them. "Your Highness, please don't do that," he pleaded. "If you don't mind my saying so, you have a very loud thumb."

Prince Chen ignored him, continuing to suck the thumb on one hand, while clutching at his ear with the other. Pythor gazed into the prince's eyes, his hypnotic powers beginning their work on Chen. "My hypnosis can rid you of your psychosis so easily," he cajoled, his voice a soothing hiss.

Chen had a dazed grin and swirling eyes for a few moments, then when he realized what Pythor was doing, he snapped out of his trance. "None of that!" he snapped at his advisor, whipping his thumb out of his mouth and letting go of his ear.

"Well I was only trying to help," Pythor mumbled.

"One more hiss out of you, Pythor," Chen growled, shaking his finger at him, "and you'll be _walking_ to Nottingham!"

Pythor skulked in his basket. "Serpentine don't walk, they slither," he muttered, crossing his arms over the edge of the basket. "Hmph, so there."

As the conversation drew to a rather sour end, Prince Chen's ears caught a playful melody being strummed on a guitar not far up the road. He stuck his head out the carriage curtain, curious to see what was going on.

A band of wandering entertainers had set up stop next to the road. The musician playing the guitar was a young man of twenty-one, dressed in the fine white and gray garments of a minstrel. He was accompanied by a mysterious-looking figure in long black robes, and two rather attractive gypsy girls. The prettier of the two had long wavy black locks, a blue silk dress, a blue kerchief tied under her chin, and she was dancing and rhythmically jangling a tambourine. Gold bracelets dangled from her delicate white wrists, and her blue eyes were accentuated by the makeup on her face. The other gypsy was quite attractive too, but she was slightly more hidden than her counterpart, with a red dress and matching veil covering her face except for her mysterious brown eyes. She twirled a clear ball on one finger, not even attempting to dance.

When the entertainers spotted the carriage, they started calling to it. "Care for some merriment to lighten your tired spirits?" the blue-clad gypsy girl called out in a sweet voice, waving her free hand while continuing to dance.

"Need tales of daring knights whilst you take a well-earned respite?" the minstrel sang, his voice pleasant and clear.

"If so, fear not, wearied traveler!" the hooded figure called, whipping a wand out from under his sleeve and producing sparks from its tip. "The Traveling Company of Birchwood Forest can meet all your entertainment needs! Be dazzled by the mysterious gypsy fortune-teller, Midiana! Hear beloved tales of old from Zavoro the minstrel. And be astounded by the spells and sorcery of the wizarding pair Grievin and Rowena!"

"Come one, come all to the Traveling Company of Birchwood Forest!" they chorused.

Prince Chen was delighted by the band of performers. "Entertainers!" he exclaimed happily. "How droll! Stop the coach!"

The carriage stopped in front of the company, and Sir Pythor, curious to see what the commotion was about, joined Prince Chen at the entrance to his carriage, the curtains pulled back and out of the way.

* * *

Zane and Cole made sweeping bows to Prince Chen, while Jay and Kai curtsied respectfully. Kai thought, glad that his frown was hidden, "Man, Prince Chen looks uglier in person than I thought."

"That snake gives me the creeps," Cole thought, glad that his scowl was masked. He carefully slipped his fake birch wand up his sleeve as he stood at his full height.

Sir Pythor wasn't quite as eager to greet the entertainers as Prince Chen. "Sire, they may be bandits," he hissed in the prince's ear.

"Poppycock," Chen smiled broadly at the gypsy girls. "Female bandits? What next? Rubbish!"

"But what about the other two?" Pythor whispered.

Chen shrugged. "They seem quite harmless. I mean, what _real_ damage can be done with a charming voice and a birch stick?"

Pythor sighed, but he kept a wary eye on the performers.

"My dear ladies," Prince Chen addressed the disguised Jay and Kai, "you may kiss the royal hands, whichever you like." He extended his hands, which were covered in fine rings inlaid with emeralds, sapphires, and rubies the size of marbles.

Jay sure knew how to lay on the charm when he needed to. He smiled winningly at the prince as he took the offered left hand. "How gracious and generous of you, Your Excellency," he purred in his girl's voice, gently slipping off one of the rings before kissing Chen's hand.

His deft move hadn't gone unnoticed. Sir Pythor, after a mortified gasp, started frantically hissing in Prince Chen's ear. "Sire!" he whispered, his tongue tickling the prince's ear, "did you see what she-"

Unfortunately, Prince Chen started giggling hysterically, trying to get his advisor's tongue out of his ear. "Stop hissing in my ear!" he ordered, shooing Pythor away.

Meanwhile, Kai was forced with the rather embarrassing task of kissing the prince's right hand. But he, like his leader, was clever, and avoided that nasty business by kissing the rings on Chen's fingers, while at the same time carefully sucking the jewels out of the ring sockets. He hastily spat them out before any accidents could occur, and scooted them under his skirt.

Pythor spotted that his master's jewels were gone, and horrified, started hissing again in Chen's other ear. "Enough!" Chen yelled. He seized Pythor and tied his neck into a knot. "You've hissed your last," he snarled.

Pythor tried to swallow as Chen deposited him into his basket. Slamming the lid down on top of Pythor, the prince sat heavily on the basket, squashing his snake advisor. "Masterfully done, Your Excellency," Jay complimented, seizing the opportunity to jump into the carriage and distract the prince with his part of the plan. But he didn't do so before flashing a wink and a grin back to his companions. The fun was about to begin.

* * *

Jay pulled the curtains closed so that the carriage was almost pitch dark. He took a seat on the basket across from Prince Chen, on one side of the small table in the carriage. "Close your eyes and concentrate," he instructed, trying hard not to laugh. "Tight shut, no peeking," he added as the prince opened one slit of an eye then hastily closed it again.

Jay began calling out in a mystical voice. "From the mists of time," he chanted, "come forth, spirits! Yoo hoo!"

Outside the carriage, Kai had tied his firefly-filled lantern loosely onto the end of a long piece of string tied to a long stick normally used as a fishing pole. "Okay, little fireflies," he whispered, quietly slipping the lantern through the carriage curtains on the side where Jay and the prince were waiting. "Do your stuff."

Back inside the carriage, Jay quickly tapped Prince Chen's hand. "Look, sire! Look!" He gestured to the ball, which appeared to float like a magical crystal in midair.

Chen was fascinated by the glowing ball. He gasped in awe. "Incredible! Floating spirits!" He reached his hand out to touch it, but Jay swiftly slapped his hand away. "How dare you strike the royal hand!" Chen scowled, shaking out his slightly stinging hand.

Jay giggled girlishly. You musn't touch them, sire," he chided sweetly, carefully plucking the ball off the string, a light tug signalling the disguised Kai outside that he could put the stick down.

Jay set the ball down on a small stand he had sneaked onto the table with another speedy move. "Now, just gaze into the crystal ball," he instructed, staring intently into the ball himself. He began waving his hands in the air in a dramatic manner. "Oo-de-lally, _ooo_ -de-la- _Oh_!" He stopped his chanting with a gasp. "A handsome face appears, with a crown upon his noble brow. . ."

Chen could only see his distorted reflection on the surface of the ball, but he took in Jay's words hook, line, and sinker. "Oo-de-lally!" he exclaimed happily.

"It's regal, majestic," Jay purred in a convincingly flattering manner. "Lovable . . . a _cuddly_ face . . ." He clamped one hand over his mouth in an effort to keep from bursting into loud laughter.

Chen drank in Jay's compliments like wine. "Regal, yes, majestic," he chuckled. "Lovable, yes, yes. Cuddly . . ."

Outside the carriage, Kai, Zane, and Cole exchanged disgusted glances. Jay was a little _too_ good of an actor. While Kai was miming throwing up to Zane, who hid a grin behind one hand, Cole caught a bag of gold Jay carefully slipped through the curtain to his teammates.

Sir Pythor had noticed Jay's light-fingered thefts, but whenever he tried to make a protest, Prince Chen sat more heavily on the basket trapping him. "I see your illustrious name," Jay continued, handing more bags of gold through the curtain as he spoke. "It will go down, far down, in history, of course!"

"You hear that, Pythor?" Chen exclaimed exuberantly. Then he frowned. "Oh, he's in the basket." He slapped the basket several times with his palm. "And don't you forget it!"

* * *

Back outside, Kai and Cole had noticed something very special about the wheels of the carriage. "Solid gold hubcaps!" they exclaimed quietly.

Zane knew exactly what to do. He walked up to the carriage drivers and the men hauling the chest of tax money, and flashed a winning smile. "Care to hear a ditty of the knights of old?" he suggested persuasively, strumming a chord on his guitar.

"What ballads do you know, Zavoro?" one of the carriage drivers asked.

"I know the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the courtship of Queen Guinevere, the finding of the sword Excalibur, and-oh, what was the name of that last one-" Zane paused. Then he shook his head. "No, you wouldn't want to hear that."

"We wouldn't want to hear _what_?" one of the men carrying the chest demanded.

Zane smiled sadly. "No, I'm unsure if men of your status would care to hear such a tale," he said, shaking his head.

"What is the ballad?" another chest-bearer urged. "Tell us! Tell us!" The others nodded eagerly.

Zane shrugged. "All right. But I warned you." He played another chord, and started to sing. The tale he had been referring to was the gruesome death of Beowulf. The men stared, entranced, as the music and Zane's voice filled the air, muffling any nearby sound.

It served its purpose, as it distracted the men while Cole and Kai unscrewed the hubcaps off the carriage wheels and slipped them into a leather bag Cole had hidden under his cloak.

Once that duty was done, Zane had finished his ballad, leaving the men shivering in fright. He smiled, an uncharacteristically roguish grin. "Don't say I did not warn you, gentlemen," he said.

Cole and Kai joined Zane by the treasure chest. "Has our companion scared you with the tale of the end of the hero Beowulf?" Cole asked, grinning mockingly at the much older men shaking in their boots. They nodded, unable to speak for anxiety. "Would you care for a bit of magic to keep your minds off that ballad?"

Kai elbowed Zane behind Cole's back. "Nice job," he whispered behind his hand. Zane smiled back at him.

The men nodded again. "I can make the contents of that chest vanish without touching the box!" Cole said dramatically, waving his birch wand in a crazy circle in the air. "All it takes is a somewhat simple yet mind-numbingly powerful spell, and presto! Every little bit of . . . whatever happens to be in there will be gone, without a single mark of penetration!"

While Cole was loudly proclaiming his made-up vanishing spell, Kai silently slipped in between the chest carriers and cut a small circle in the bottom of the chest with his knife. He quickly opened up his dress bodice so then the gold fell into the bag he had hidden under his dress. Once the last gold piece had made a soft clink in the bag, Kai carefully slipped the wooden piece he had cut out of the bottom of the chest back in, making sure it was wedged firmly in place.

"Alaca _zam_!" As Kai snuck off to wait for Jay, Cole pointed his birch wand at the chest, making sure it didn't hit the box. "Do I have your permission to open the chest?"

One of the chest-bearers waved his hand dismissively. "Sure, why not?" He wasn't a big believer in sorcery, and was pretty certain the golden taxes were still sitting peacefully inside the chest, unaware of Cole and Kai's trick.

Cole made a few quick turns of his wand in the keyholes of the locks and the chest fell open with a clatter. The men peered in, astounded, as they didn't see anything in the chest, nor any sign of being perpetrated. The plugged hole that Kai had cut in the box bottom looked like a knothole in the wood. "Amazing!" they exclaimed.

The one chest-bearer wasn't convinced. "So you managed to make that stuff disappear, big deal. Now make it _re_ appear, magician."

Cole waggled his wand. "Ah, about that, unfortunately I require a potion that takes a week to brew properly to make anything reappear," he said, with a touch of regret. "If you happen to call again in a week or two, I guarantee I'll have a ready-made Appearing Potion for your convenience."

Just after that fine little salesman's schtick, Jay jumped out of the carriage, carrying several bags of gold in his arms and wearing Prince Chen's ornate robes over his dress, Kai following close behind. He almost slammed head-on into Cole and Zane. "Time to amscray!" he hissed in Zane's ear.

Zane nodded, then tapped Cole on the shoulder, gesturing for them to head back into the forest. Cole nodded back, then the four made a mad dash down the road toward the forest, laughing uproariously and waving cheerfully behind them. "Oo-de-lally! Oo-de-lally! Swing by again sometime!" Jay called over his shoulder, a triumphant and playful grin spread across his face.

* * *

Back at the carriage, Chen opened his eyes to discover that all the gold in his carriage was gone, along with his robes! Left only in his long underwear, he shrieked, "I've been robbed!"

"Ya think?" A thoroughly squashed Sir Pythor slithered out of his basket with a finally untied neck.

"After them!" Chen roared.

The men, slightly dazed by the theft performed right before their eyes, shook themselves out of their trances and charged after the outlaws. The carriage driver spurred his horses on at full speed, and the wheels spun right off their axles, thanks to Cole and Kai's maneuver with the hubcaps. Chen was hanging on for dear life to the curtain now flapping wildly in the air out the back of the carriage.

The curtain couldn't hold his weight for too long, and with a loud tear, it ripped away from the carriage, sending the monarch hurtling into the muddy road, face-first. Sir Pythor practically soared out of the carriage as he fell with a splat next to his master. They were both trampled by another entourage of charging royal soldiers that had been following the carriage.

When all the soldiers were gone, Chen kicked and pounded his fists against the ground like a little baby. "No, no, no, NO!" Boy, that guy sure threw a temper tantrum when he didn't have his way.

"I knew it," Pythor huffed, squeezing the mud out of his hat before plopping it back on his head. "I knew it! I tried to warn you but no-no-no, you wouldn't list-" Pythor froze as a furious Chen raised the hand mirror high over his head. "Ah, ah, seven years' bad-" Chen slammed the mirror down over his advisor's head. Pythor's magenta eyes rolled around, dazed, in their sockets. "-luck," he squeaked. "That's what it is." He stared at the broken fragments of the mirror in dismay. "Besides, you broke your mother's mirror!"

"Aah!" Chen's eyes widened in horror. " _Mommy_!" He stuck his thumb in his mouth and sucked it for a few moments, then pulled it out and stared at it. "I've got a dirty thumb."


	4. The Best and Worst of Days

**Hi and bye! No time to chat, but thank you MNC, Guest, anonymous1201, and Guest for your reviews on the previous chapter! And to answer your question Guest #2, no, Kai and Nya are not siblings in this story. I'm pretty much severing all canon family ties in this story in order to make it make sense.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I should have the next chapter up sooner than it took me to get this one up! :D**

* * *

 **Chapter the Fourth: The Best and Worst of Days**

Well, you can imagine Prince Chen not being in the best of moods with Robin Jay and his Merry Men. In fact, within a few days of the daring carriage heist, you couldn't take a footstep without glancing at at least three "Wanted" posters with that auburn-haired, blue-eyed outlaw cockily grinning at you, a quiver full of arrows slung over one shoulder and a bow with an arrow ready to shoot in his hands. Right above that rather charming picture, you'd most likely find these words: " **Reward: £1000 for the capture of Robin Jay.** "

The thing was, I'm not sure anyone would have wanted even that generous reward for catching such a beloved hero. Jay kept right on robbing the rich to feed the poor, and if he and his men were gone, the destitute folks of Nottingham would have starved to death.

Two of Jay's more active supporters in Nottingham were Friar Wu and his apprentice Sexton Lloyd. It was through the kindly friar and his nephew that Jay's funds were given to the townspeople.

Friar Wu was an older man, with a long white beard and a conical hat that seemed to be eternally attached to his head. He always wore his brown friar's kimono, even outside of church, and he carried a wooden staff that served him as a walking stick. His somewhat wizened appearance hid his strong interior and his heart for goodness, and even with Chen on the throne, still held his duty to King Garmadon, who was one of his closest friends. There were even some rumors that insisted they were brothers, but that was a little ridiculous.

Sexton Lloyd was a young man of twenty, and unlike his master, he usually wore a simple green tunic and leather boots outside of his black sexton church robes. This was not only to show allegiance to Jay and his band, but because green was his preferred color. He had windswept blond hair, and emerald green eyes. He was Wu's nephew, orphaned at a young age and taken in by his compassionate uncle. He shared his uncle's passion for doing what was right, and he hated Prince Chen to the bone, as there were also rumors that the prince had ordered the execution of Lloyd's parents.

As it turned out, this spring morning found the friar and sexton visiting the homes of the people of Nottingham, delivering little gifts from Robin Jay. Their next stop was the blacksmith's forge, where Francisco the blacksmith was hammering away at the anvil. He had broken his leg about two weeks before, and had been forced to stop working, but when he was just about out of money, he returned to the anvil to try and keep up with the taxes.

Francisco greeted Wu and Lloyd warmly as they stepped into the forge. "Good morning, Friar Wu, Master Lloyd!" he called.

"Shh!" Friar Wu gently hushed him as Lloyd glanced around the street, checking for any sign of the sheriff. Then the friar produced a bag of money out from under his cloak. "This is for you, Francisco," he said softly, smiling at the blacksmith as he gave him the bag, "from Robin Jay."

"Oh, God bless Robin Jay!" Francisco exclaimed happily.

"Not to sound blasphemous, but you might wanna save that blessing for later," Lloyd warned, darting back into the forge. "Ol' Bushel Britches is coming!"

"Hide the money, quick!" Friar Wu cried.

For sure enough, Sheriff Zugu was striding down the street, humming jauntily to himself as he walked toward the shop. Francisco quickly dumped the money right into the closest place he could put it: into his cast.

"Greetings from your friendly neighborhood tax collector!" Zugu called as he stepped into the shop.

"Oh, take it easy on me, Sheriff!" Francisco begged, supporting himself on his crutch as he gestured to his broken leg. "What with this busted leg and all, I'm way behind in my work, Sheriff!"

Sheriff Zugu smiled in a mockingly sympathetic manner. "Oh, I feel your pain, Franciso," he replied, still smirking, "but you're way behind on your taxes too!"

"Oh, have a heart, Sheriff!" Friar Wu exclaimed. "Can't you see he's laid up?" He pulled up a rocking chair from the corner. "Come on, Francisco; you'd better sit down and rest."

Lloyd helped Francisco to the chair, but even his efforts to keep the casted leg off the ground couldn't mask the clinking of coins as the blacksmith limped over to the rocking chair.

Zugu's sharp ears caught the sound, and he grinned maliciously to himself. "Here," he said, propping Francisco's injured leg on a footstool, "let me give you a hand with that leg."

As he took Francisco's casted leg, he lifted it up so high that the gold coins spilled out of the elevated cast and right into Zugu's hand. The sheriff forcefully tapped Francisco's foot, and as the blacksmith cried out in pain, a final gold coin slid out into Zugu's palm.

He grinned nastily at the horrified young sexton and the angry friar as he let Francisco's leg fall with a stabbing thump against the footstool. "What will they think of next?" he sneered, pocketing the gold into the tax bag hanging from his belt. "It smarts, don't it, Francisco?" he mocked the blacksmith, who was blinking back tears of pain as he gingerly adjusted his leg on the footstool. "Well, Prince Chen says taxes should hurt."

"Now see here, you evil-hearted -" Friar Wu began furiously.

"Save your sermon, preacher," Sheriff Zugu cut him off. "It ain't Sunday, y'know."

With that last scathing remark, he sauntered out of the blacksmith's forge.

* * *

Sheriff Zugu kept up his shameless humming as he approached his next stop, the small home of Widow Mystake and her children. He peered in through the window, and if you were to look with him, you would have seen nearly nine little boys and girls dancing around the one room house, singing the Happy Birthday song to the oldest boy, Brad.

Brad's gray eyes lit up as his mother gave him a neatly wrapped present box. Mystake smiled at her oldest son, and her oldest child, nine-year-old Patty, and her youngest, three-year-old Sally, smiled too. Brad had messy black hair, and wore a simple blue tunic and the remains of leather shoes on his feet. Being the oldest boy in such a large family was a pretty big responsibility, especially with no father in the house, but Brad was the most helpful, adventurous tyke you'd probably meet anywhere in Nottingham town.

As Brad happily accepted the present box, who would burst in through the door warbling the last part of the song but ol' Bushel Britches himself!

The children suddenly fell silent, looking fearfully at the looming figure of the sheriff. Brad tried to hide his present behind his back, but it didn't escape the sheriff's keen eye. "Well, now," he said, "that's a mighty nice lookin' box you've got there."

"Well, Mister Sheriff, sir," Brad said shyly, "it's my birthday present, sir."

"Well, sonny, aren't you going to open it?" the sheriff inquired

Seeing that he didn't have too much of a choice in this awkward position, Brad lifted the lid of the present box. "Oh, boy!" he cried, eyes lighting up in delight. "One whole farthing!" A farthing wasn't very much, but to the poor widow and her family, it was worth a lot to them.

He tipped the box over to let the little copper coin fall into his hand, but before he could catch it in his palm, the sheriff's calloused hand intercepted it in midair!

Brad's eyes welled up with tears as he stared at the sheriff in pure hurt. Mystake put her hands on her hips. "Have you no heart?" she demanded, glaring at the sheriff as he bagged the farthing. "We all scrimped and saved to give it to him!"

"Well, that's mighty sweet o'you, widder woman," Zugu replied, "but the family that saves together pays together!"

He patted Brad on the head. "Oh, now, don't take it so hard, sonny," he said. "Prince Chen wishes you a happy birthday too!" Brad didn't reply; he just stared into his empty present box with tears coursing down his cheeks.

As Sheriff Zugu turned to leave, an old blind beggar dressed in tattered brown robes and a cloak cautiously stepped inside, feeling around with his cane. "Alms for the poor!" he called out weakly.

The sheriff eyed the beggar's tin cup, then tossed Brad's farthing into the cup. It sent all the coins in the cup flying into the air, and Zugu caught them and put them in his own pouch. Widow Mystake gasped in horror at Sheriff Zugu's heartlessness. "Well, so far it's been a cheerful morning," he said with a grin. "Keep saving!" With that, he ducked out of the house.

Widow Mystake put a hand on the beggar's shoulder as he frowned in confusion at the empty tin cup in his hand. "You poor old man," she said sympathetically. "Come inside and rest yourself." She gently guided him over to a chair.

"Thank ye kindly, mother," he said gratefully as he sat down. "Tell me, did me old ears hear someone singing a birthday ditty?" He turned in Brad's direction as the little boy sniffled and scrubbed at his teary eyes.

"Yes, sir," he said, blinking back tears. "But that mean old sheriff took my birthday present."

"Well now," the beggar said gently, "be a stout-hearted little lad and -" he stood up straight and lifted his black-tinted glasses " - don't let it get you down."

Brad's eyes widened at the familiar clear blue eyes sparkling merrily at him. "Gee whiz!" he exclaimed happily, recognizing the "beggar." "It's Robin Jay!"

The "beggar" threw off his disguise to reveal a tunic of Lincoln green and the familiar cap adorned with a robin's feather. Robin Jay smiled down at the happy boy. "Happy birthday, son!"

Patty sighed dreamily. "Oh, he's so handsome," she said, gazing in adoration at the young outlaw, "just like his reward posters."

"Tell me, young man," Jay said, putting his hands on his knees as he bent down to Brad's level," how old are you today?"

"Gosh, I'm seven years old," Brad said proudly, "going on eight!"

Jay frowned thoughtfully. "My word, that _does_ make you the man of the house," he remarked. His contemplative expression turned into a smile. "I've got just the thing!" From behind his back, he took out a miniature set of bow and arrows and held them out to Brad.

"For me?" Brad's eyes went wider as he accepted the bow and arrows. "Gee, thanks, Mister Robin Jay, sir!" He nocked an arrow to his new bow and turned to his sisters. "Hey, how do I look?"

Sally took her fingers out of her mouth long enough to answer. "Not much like Mithter Wobin Jay."

"She's right, there _is_ something missing," Jay agreed reflectively. He snapped his fingers in realization, then took his hat off and placed it on Brad's head. "There you go!" he said with a smile.

" _Now_ how do I look?" Brad exclaimed, pushing the hat brim up out of his eyes as he attempted an archer's pose.

Patty giggled behind her hand to Sally. "The hat's too big."

"Mind your manners," her mother chided her sharply.

"Yeth, mind your manners," Sally echoed.

Brad looked slightly crestfallen, but his smile returned when Jay put a hand on his shoulder and assured him, "Don't worry; you'll grow into it, kiddo."

"Oo-de-lally! I'm gonna try 'em out!" Brad whooped, running out the door, followed by Patty and Sally.

"G'bye, Mithter Wobin Jay!" Sally called, waving over her shoulder as she toddled after her older siblings. She peeked back through the door. "Come again, on my birthday!"

Widow Mystake laughed as Jay waved after her. "You've given my son the best present he could ever have," she said to the young man. "How can I ever thank you?"

"I only wish I could do more, ma'am," Jay replied, giving the widow a compassionate smile. "Here." He took a bag of money from his belt and gave it to her. "And keep your chin up," he added softly. "Someday there'll be happiness again in Nottingham. You'll see."

As he donned his beggar's disguise again and hobbled out the door, Widow Mystake bade him a tearful goodbye. "Oh, Robin Jay," she said quietly, "thank you for keeping our hopes alive. Bless you. Bless you."


	5. A Lucky Shot

**Hi and bye! Gah, once again, no time to chat! ARGH! Shout-outs to JayFan67, The Mayor of Ninjago City, MasterofCupcakes, Ninja Pony, LiaLia15, and iluvninjagoTNSBFWgirl for your reviews on the previous chapter! Thank y'all so much!**

 **Ooh, I'm introducing some romance this chappie! :D**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter the Fifth: A Lucky Shot**

Brad, Patty, and Sally bounded down the street, talking and laughing with excitement about the surprise visit from Robin Jay. Within minutes, their friend Gene joined up with the little party. Gene was bookish rather than athletic, but he was as enthusiastic as the rest of them when he saw Brad's new bow and arrows.

They arrived at a big oak tree that stood in a clearing that divided the town and Prince Chen's great stone castle. As Brad prepared to shoot, Gene said, "Gee, did Robin Jay really give that to you?"

"Yeah!" Brad beamed. "And this was his own hat, too!"

"Let me try it, Brad!" Sally cried, reaching out for the bow.

"Oh no you don't, I get to shoot first," Brad said. Sally scowled in annoyance.

As Brad pointed his bow into the sky, Patty warned, "You're pointin' it too high!"

"No, I'm not!" Brad insisted. "Watch this!" With a twang of the bowstring, his arrow flew up and away - right over the walls of Prince Chen's castle. No one was allowed into the castle grounds without permission from the prince, not even to retrieve a mis-shot arrow.

"Uh-oh," Gene said nervously, " _now_ you've done it."

Brad just gritted his teeth in determination and ran across the clearing to a barred side door in the castle wall. "You can't go in there!" Gene squeaked. "Prince Chen will chop off your head!"

"I don't care!" Brad snapped. "I've gotta get my arrow!"

"Wait, Brad," Patty said, "Gene might tattle on you."

Gene _did_ have a reputation for that sort of thing, and Brad knew it too. "That's right, Gene," he said, turning toward his friend. "You have to take the oath."

"An oath?" Gene frowned skeptically.

"Put a hand over your heawt and cwoss your eyes," Sally instructed.

Once all four children had done so, Brad recited, "Spiders, snakes, and a lizard's head."

"Spiders, snakes, and a lizard's head," Gene repeated.

"If I tattle-tale, I'll die till I'm dead!"

"If I tattle-tale, I'll die till I'm dead!"

Brad looked satisfied. Then, the other three kids watched as he slipped in between the bars of the door and quickly and quietly snuck into the castle grounds.

The seven-year-old spotted his arrow lodged in the grass in the open space of the grounds. Unfortunately, he also spotted a problem to getting the arrow: he had to avoid being seen by the two people playing badminton on the grounds.

* * *

"Are you ready, 'Sako?" Nya cried, holding her racket in one hand while preparing to serve the birdie with the other.

"As your lady-in-waiting, I'm waiting!" Misako replied merrily, her exaggerated curtsy evoking laughter from the young girl on the other side of the net.

As the birdie flew through the air, the older lady, Misako, had to run to catch up with it in time to launch it back to Nya, who sent it right back just as quickly as it had come to her. While Misako was good at many things, badminton certainly wasn't one of her strong suits. The two women were laughing at each other as they sent the birdie back and forth over the net.

The girl, whose proper title was Maid Nyarian, but called Nya for short, was a beautiful young lady of twenty. She had lovely golden amber eyes as bright as stars, and instead of hiding her short raven-black locks under a fanciful headdress, she wore a simple jeweled circlet on her head. She wore a red sleeveless V-necked shift over a sky-blue underdress with long puffed sleeves. Her pretty neck was encircled with a blue ribbon choker necklace inlaid with a blood-red ruby. On her dainty feet, she wore practical, simple red slippers. She was King Garmadon's beloved niece, and everyone in Nottingham still gossiped about her romance with a certain dashing young outlaw from so many years ago.

Lady Misako was Nya's loyal lady-in-waiting. She was an older woman, probably in her late fifties-early sixties. She had long gray hair tied back in a sensible braided bun, and wore a low-necked long-sleeved green dress with matching practical slippers. Her kind gray eyes always twinkled gaily, and she was the gentle, protective mother to Nya that the young girl never had.

It was rather silly to see this older lady running about the grounds trying to catch up with the badminton birdie, and Nya could hardly keep herself from collapsing to the grass in a fit of giggles. "'Sako, you look so ridiculous!" she laughed as Misako missed the birdie, and it apparently landed in her dress. She abandoned nearly all modesty trying to shake it out.

"Oh, there it is!" Nya ran to pick it up, and her amber eyes met the frightened gray ones of a young boy, hand grasping tightly around an arrow that had landed right next to the birdie.

* * *

Brad stared, terrified, into the mildly startled eyes of Maid Nya. "Hello!" she said, smiling pleasantly at him. "Where did you come from?"

Brad's lower lip quivered in fear as his hat slipped down over his eyes. "Oh please don't tell Prince Chen!" he begged. "Mama said he'll chop off my head!"

"You haven't done anything wrong," Nya assured him kindly. "Don't be afraid." She took a slight step back to study the young boy a little more easily.

Misako joined Nya and smiled at Brad. "Oh, Nya, what a bonny wee boy!" she exclaimed.

Nya looked thoughtful. She turned to her lady-in-waiting. "Now who does this young archer remind you of?" she asked.

Upon a closer look at Brad, Misako pressed a hand to her heart in recognition. "Well, upon my word!" she cried. "The notorious Robin Jay!"

Brad beamed as Nya agreed, "That's right! Only Robin Jay wears a hat like that!"

Back behind the gated door, Sally let out a loud and sudden sneeze. " _Ahhhh-CHOO!"_

The two women turned toward the gate in surprise. Smiling coyly, Misako nudged her charge. "Ah, Nya, m'dear, don't look around, but I do believe we're surrounded!"

Nya smiled cheerfully at the three kids watching them with a mixture of awe and fear. "It's all right, children!" she called out to them. "Don't be afraid! Please come here!"

Patty scowled as Brad waved at them. "He snitched on us," she muttered.

"That's Maid Nya," Sally said brightly. "Mama says she's awful nice."

One by one, the children squeezed through the gate and shyly approached Nya and Misako. "Gee, I said Brad was shootin' too high," Patty said, gazing up in awe at the two women.

"I'm very glad he did," Nya said, smiling. "Now I get to meet all of you!"

Little Sally told the young girl boldly, "Mama says that you an' Wobin Jay are sweetheawts."

Nya blushed slightly as she remembered her sweet, handsome lover. "Yes," she admitted, "but that was several years ago, before I left for London."

"Did he ever kiss you?" Gene ventured.

"Well, no," Nya confessed with a shy laugh. "But he carved our initials into this tree." She gestured toward a birch tree growing at one edge of the grounds. Engraved into its trunk were a pair of initials: R.J. + M.N., encircled by a heart pierced through by an arrow.

"You gonna have any kids?" Brad piped up.

Nya shook her head a little sadly. "I'm afraid he's forgotten all about me by now," she said quietly.

"Oh, not Robin Jay!" Brad brandished the wooden sword he always carried at his side "I'll be he'll storm the castle, break down the gates, rescue ya, and drag ya off to Birchwood Forest!"

"Now just a minute there, young man!" Misako said, a mischievous gleam in her eye. "You've forgotten Prince Chen!"

"That ol' Prince Chen don't scare me none," Brad replied scornfully.

Misako cackled gleefully and pointed her badminton racket at the boy. "I, Prince Chen, challenge you to a duel!"

Brad and Lady Misako lunged and parried at each other in a brilliant mock swordfight, the other kids whooping and cheering as they pretended to land blows on each other. Finally, Misako lay on the ground, Brad's wooden sword "through" her chest. The seven-year-old peered anxiously at the older lady. "I didn't hurt ya, did I?" he asked.

"No," Misako opened one eye to assure him. "This is the part where you drag your lady fair off to Birchwood Forest."

Brad ran toward Nya and caught her hand. "C'mon, lady fair, let's go!"

"Oh, Jay, you're so brave and impetuous!" Nya laughed, playing along as Brad led her into a secluded clump of bushes at the edge of the grounds.

Once the two had ducked into the bushes, there was an awkward pause. "Now what?" Brad asked.

"Well," Nya said slyly, "usually the hero gives his fair lady a kiss."

"Aw, that's sissy stuff," Brad, being the seven-year-old boy he was, muttered.

"Well, if you won't, then I will." Ignoring Brad's panicked squirming, the young lady gently picked him up and planted a delicate kiss on his cheek.

Patty, Gene, and Sally burst into shrieks of laughter as a furiously blushing Brad swiped the kiss off his cheek. "They're kissing!" Patty squealed, leaning against a tree to support herself, shaking from head to toe with mirth.

* * *

About an hour after the children left, Nya and Misako were up in Nya's room. Misako was sitting in a chair nearby her charge's vanity, knitting needles making a gentle _clickety-clack_ noise, adding to the overall peaceful atmosphere in the room.

Nya, on the other hand, couldn't sit still. She twirled around the room in a slow dance, her mind delightfully crowded with memories of her past romance with Robin Jay. "Ah, me, young love," Misako remarked, smiling at the dreamy expression on the maiden's face. "Oh, it's a grand thing."

Nya sighed as she opened up her wooden wardrobe. "Oh, Misako, surely Jay knows how much I still love him," she said wistfully, gazing at the Robin Jay wanted poster hanging on the inside door of her wardrobe. She traced her finger along the handsome outlaw's parchment cheek, desperately wishing that it was warm skin and not flaky paper she was feeling.

Her heartache for her lover was easily disguised, but hearing the children speak of their former romance now made her long for him more deeply. She remembered his beautiful sky-blue eyes gazing intently into hers, his gentle touch on her cheek, his merry laughter, his kind voice whispering tender declarations of his adoration for her. . .

They had almost kissed, once, but that had been interrupted before they made contact. She had reluctantly drawn away from Jay . . . but she wanted to finish that kiss _so badly._

"I know he does," Misako assured her gently. "And someday soon, your uncle King Garmadon will have an outlaw for an in-law!"

Nya giggled at Misako's joke. "But when, 'Sako? _When?_ "

"Patience, dear, patience. Remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Or forgetful." Nya sighed as she rested her arms on the stone windowsill of her room. "Oh, I've been away so long. What if he's forgotten all about me?" The blue of the sky did nothing to soothe her worry, it just reminded her more and more of Jay's lovely, enchanting eyes.

The more Nya thought about Jay, the more she was sure her heart was going to break.


End file.
